Collateral Damage Daily for June 15

What is it with celebrations causing injuries? First Ramon Ramirez was injured during the Santana no-hitter, and now we have Aubrey Huff, who tripped jumping over the railing while celebrating Matt Cain’s perfect game, injuring his knee. An MRI revealed a sprain, and it sounds like he is going to end up on the DL. It just goes to show how we will never be able to completely predict injuries. I’d settle for predicting Tommy John surgery, though.

Additions

Drew Smyly was placed on the DL yesterday with a blister in his left middle finger that looked like it should be on a horror movie set. You want to limit the chances of the blister getting infected, so it’s wise to avoid pitching through it and having it open each time out. It sorts of works out that Doug Fister is ready to be activated and will start Saturday’s game. Ryan Raburn was called up to take Smyly’s roster spot for now.

As we mentioned yesterday, P.J. Walters left the game early because of shoulder stiffness or soreness. He had an MRI, and although the results have not been released yet, the timing of Walters’ placement on the DL suggests that doctors saw something that will keep him out for a while. Lester Oliveros was brought up to take Walters’ roster spot.

Endy Chavez was placed on the disabled list Thursday because of a strained right hamstring that he injured a few days ago rounding first base. The move is retroactive to June 13, so Chavez is eligible to return on June 28. He’s been having a hard time staying healthy over the last several years, but the Orioles don’t think this injury is as bad as his left leg injury in 2007. The average time for non-surgical cases of hamstring strains in outfielders ranges from 15 days to 159 days, with an average of a little over 31 days missed. Steve Tolleson was called up to take Chavez’s spot.

Luke Scott is no stranger to the disabled list. I mean, we’re not in Chipper Jones territory, but Scott has now been on the disabled list in each of the last four seasons. Yesterday, he was sent to the 15-day DL with mid-back spasms retroactive to June 9. He first felt the spasms during batting practice before the previous night’s game. He had woken up with lower back stiffness but needed to get his swings in, so he wrapped a hot pack over his lower back and stepped in the cage. He couldn’t get his normal rotation, and the next thing you know, he’s going on the disabled list with spasms. He probably has a minor strain, too. Scott may be able to make it back when eligible on June 24.

Koji Uehara will be placed on the 15-day disabled list within the next few days with a strained latissimus dorsi muscle. Uehara and general manager Jon Daniels both emphasized that the injury was minor and that the MRI showed only a small strain/tear. Daniels estimated that Uehara won’t throw for 10 days to two weeks and then start up again. The average time lost is 49 days, although there have been some pitchers who have gotten back in the minimum.

Subtractions

Welington Castillo was activated from the DL yesterday after spending 26 days on the disabled list. For an MCL injury in a catcher, this is actually very good and on the early side. The average time for catchers to return from an MCL injury is 34 days because of the deep flexion the knee endures. Castillo is expected to head back down to the minors once Geovany Soto comes back from his knee injury sometime within the next few weeks.

David Robertson will be activated today after spending more than a month on the DL because of his strained left oblique. Unlike others on the list, this is the first time he’s been on the disabled list. As we expected, Robertson is not heading back as the closer, instead slotting back in the set-up role.

Any chance you could move the last update date on a note to the front of the comment instead of the back? Or provide a way to sort by note date? I read by skimming to new comments, so either option would make that easier with the injury volume ever-increasing.